Stifel reiterated its Hold rating and US$70 price target for BioMarin Pharmaceutical after the company secured a patent settlement with Ascendis Pharma that includes favorable royalty terms.
The agreement grants BioMarin a 20% royalty on net sales of Ascendis’s Yuviwel in the United States and an 18% royalty in international markets, including the European Union, South Korea and Brazil. Royalty payments are retroactive and will run through May 2030, aligning with BioMarin’s projected timeline for the potential approval of its next-generation C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) product, BMN333.
Stifel highlighted that the economic terms of the deal exceed expectations, noting the royalty structure as more favorable than initially anticipated. The firm also pointed to promising pharmacokinetics data for BMN333, while cautioning that development risk remains as BioMarin aims to demonstrate clinical superiority over existing therapies.
BioMarin’s shares were trading at US$65.57 on Monday, below Stifel’s price target and InvestingPro’s Fair Value estimate. The stock has drawn mixed analyst coverage, with Piper Sandler maintaining an Overweight rating and a US$88 target, while H.C. Wainwright reduced its price target from US$60 to US$59 and maintained a Neutral rating. Canaccord Genuity and BMO Capital both retained Buy and Outperform ratings with targets of US$114 and US$98, respectively.
The patent settlement follows BioMarin’s US$275 million cash acquisition of Alesta Therapeutics, with up to an additional US$215 million in potential milestone payments tied to development and regulatory milestones for Alesta’s oral asset ALE1, which targets hypophosphatasia.
